Published on Oct 2, 1997
A 2-CD record is a pretty hard sell right now. This summer for
rap fans, it was horrible. The Notorious B.I.G.? Wu-Tang Clan? Bone
Thugs N’ Harmony? Knowing that a double album will set you back at
least $20, you’re going to be pretty selective about what album
deserves the bucks. But at least with artists such as 2Pac and The
Smashing Pumpkins, you knew their sound before buying their double
albums.
That all said, what is the motivation behind shelling out for a
double album from an artist whom you never heard before? That’s the
case with Jack Logan’s dense, wonderful 1994 album,
Bulk. The CD is specially priced so it’s not as expensive as
other double albums. Also, artists such as Peter Buck of R.E.M.
have praised Logan’s work. Still, it’s one of those “leap of faith”
moments. You believe the hype and go down and shell out $14 for an
artist you’ve never heard a single note from. And as for me, it was
a rewarding risk.
Bulk took nearly 15 years to make. Recorded at various
houses and studios, it traces the career of an artist truely in
love with creating music. During the day Jack Logan would have a
full time job, the latest job includes repairing swimming pool
motors. At night, Logan and his buddies would go down to one of
their houses and fuck around with some songs. Sometimes they would
get studio time and record there.
A little toying with the instruments swelled to a whopping 600
recordings Logan submitted. With that many recordings, the mere 42
songs on
Bulk are but a brief synopsis of Logan’s work. “Fuck
Everything” opens up
Bulk perfectly. Jack Logan’s limited, but weary voice haunts
through some of the studio fuzz.
Small town life gets fleshed out in three dimensional detail in
Bulk. Monotony suffocates the figures in “Vegetable Belt”,
“15 Years In Indiana” and “Shrunken Head”. Simple such as watching
cartoons (“Cartoons”) and minimal needs (“New Used Car And A Plate
Of Bar-B-Que” and “Would I Be Happy Then?”) are covered with vivid
detail by Logan.
Don’t assume that Logan is your typical small town simpleton
though. “Underneath Your Bed” and “Chloroform” are wicked, detailed
accounts of lust turned to violence in serial killer like
delivery.
While low-fi seems to be the choice of hipper than thou
alternative indies,
Bulk had no choice in the matter. The rather pure,
unrehearsed feel of
Bulk makes it sort of a character study of an artist. Logan
even has a duet with Vic Chestnutt (the artist that
Sweet Relief 2 honored) with “The Parishioners”.
For an artist so undeniably hip, any fame that Logan receives
will be a mixed blessing of sorts. Logan and his band, Liquor
Cabinet, went into a studio to make
Mood Elevator after
Bulk bailed over critics in 1994. Though it was good to hear
Logan with some better sound equipment, you had the feeling like
something was robbed. Take those charming guys who recorded with
each other after work to “blow off steam” and put them in a tight
studio with microphones pointing at them and have a demanding
producer determined to catapult Logan into the same field as the
Wallflowers are now and it makes you wonder how Logan would react
to such a situation.
Then, on the other hand, Logan doesn’t have to really do
anything. 42 songs out of 600 recording means that there’s still a
lot of stuff we haven’t heard from the guy. And with 15 years of
music that was fairly untouched by music labels, Logan might be
just the corrupt-free guy to make the labels listen for the local
sounds.